![]() ![]() To confirm that TRIM’S enabled on your WIndows 8.1 or 10 PC’s SSD, open the command prompt and type fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify (without any end punctuation). If not for TRIM, writes would take longer, and an SSD’s performance would deteriorate as you filled it up and deleted files from it. The TRIM command tells the SSD to erase and consolidate cells that are no longer in use, so writing to those sectors in the future will be just as fast as when the drive was new. The file’s data is still there on the disk, but it will be overwritten only when the operating system needs that “empty” space to write new files to the disk. Operating systems typically just delete a file by marking its data on the disk as deleted and erasing the pointer to it. If we wanted to overwrite a sector, we’d have to erase the sector and write the new contents to the now-empty sector. This means if an SSD needs to modify a filled sector, it has to read it, note the contents, modify them, erase the sector, and write the modified contents. When writing data, the SSD can write only to empty sectors. And even if you’re not doing that, you’re probably more likely to buy new hardware long before your SSD packs it in. You’ll get many, many, many years of normal use out of an SSD without bumping into its write-cycle cap-especially if you’re storing basic media and productivity files on a mechanical hard drive. Yes, it sounds scary, but in practice, don’t sweat it. It’s true: SSDs only have a limited amount of writes before they start to fail. Meanwhile, WinDirStat is an ideal tool for figuring out where your storage space is going. They take nearly 500MB of space that you could put to better use.Ī tool like the free CCleaner can help tremendously, scanning your hard drive for unnecessary temporary files and deleting them for you. This folder contains the installer files, which you’ll need only for reinstalling or repairing the driver. ![]() For example, NVIDIA’s graphics driver updates leave an unnecessary folder under C:NVIDIA after you install them. With space at a premium, you’ll want to regularly free up space and avoid wasting those precious flash memory cells on junk. This also works for your Music, Pictures, Documents, and Downloads folders.ĬCleaner can help you find and eradicate junk on your SSD, like Nvidia’s driver installation files and browser cookies. The Videos folder will still appear at C:UsersNAMEVideos and be part of your Videos library, but its contents will be stored on the other drive. Right-click it and select Properties, then open the Location tab and select a new location for it. To move your Videos folder from your main system drive, an SSD, to a mechanical hard drive, just locate the Videos folder-you’ll find it in your user folder at C:UsersNAME. Your main user data folders can be moved easily. Next, you’d run the following command: mklink /d C:Example D:Example Arrange Windows system folders To move C:Example to D:Example, you’d move the C:Example folder to D:Example using Windows Explorer. (Search for cmd.exe in Windows’ Run tool to bring up the Command Prompt.) If you want to create a link outside your user folder, you’ll need to open a Command Prompt window as Administrator. Use the mklink command in a Command Prompt window to create a symbolic link. The symlink is just a pointer that says “Hey, look over there,” so the program won’t take up any space on your SSD.Ĭreating a symlink from an “Example” folder on a C: drive to D:Example ![]() Whenever a shortcut, registry entry, or anything else looks up C:Game, the system will transparently redirect it to D:Game. You could move the game folder to D:Game and create a symlink that points from C:Game to D:Game. This sort of trick allows you to move your installed programs and games without much trouble. Symbolic links (or “symlinks”) will allow you to move a directory while “tricking” Windows into thinking it’s at its original location. You’ll either need to uninstall and reinstall the program to the new location, or use symbolic links. However, most programs will display errors if you attempt to drag and drop their folder to a new location. Some programs can be moved easily-for example, you can just move your entire Steam folder to a new drive and run the Steam.exe file to launch it. Moving programs after the fact is often more difficult. When installing a program, choosing the destination drive for it is easy: Just select an install location on another drive.Īdding new folder locations for game installations is dead simple in Steam-just open Steam’s Settings, select Downloads, click the Steam Library Folders button, and add a new folder on a different drive. You’ll probably want most of your programs on the SSD so they’ll load lickety-split, although large programs you rarely use are well-suited to a slower mechanical hard drive. ![]()
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